LLAS Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Spain today: Language and contemporary society at your fingertips
Many institutions have introduced e-learning into the languages curriculum, often with a commensurate reduction in the number of contact hours. The authors describe this approach using the Spain Today web site at Northumbria University. Student motivation was reported to be high and the site was regularly visited, though the interactive tools available were not greatly used. However, a blended mode was strongly supported by a majority of students. It was found that overall student performance was actually slightly lower than when more contact hours were included. The authors also note that e-learning often shows itself to be far more time-consuming than traditional teaching.

Online languages and reflective learning
This paper describes a programme of university language courses, delivered as a combination of both online and face-to-face teaching. The authors believe that the approach taken can promote learner reflection. Evaluation studies reported a good level of student satisfaction and focus groups indicated an increased quality of student work. Further work to foster greater reflection is discussed.